Sand-pencil.



J. A. PETRIE, SAND PNOIL. APPLIOATIOII nun nmza, 1911.

1,051,968, Patented Feb. 4, 1913.

WITNESSES:

JOHN A. PETRIE, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

SAND-PENCIL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 4, 1913.

Application filed December. 29, 1911'. Serial No. 668,516.

To all whom itmay concern;

Be it known that I, JOHN A. PETRIE, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sand-Pencils, of which the following is a.

specification, reference being'had therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in sand pencils, and has for its object, among other things, to provide a device that may be held in the hand and used in the same manner as an ordinary pencil, and so designed as to hold a quantity of sand or similar material, that may be delivered therefrom in a uniform stream, means being provided for shutting OK the flow of sand whenever desired.

To these, and other ends, my invention consists in the sand pencil, having certain details of construction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described, and more particularly pointed out in the claim.

Referring to the drawings, in which like numerals of reference designate like parts in the several figures: Figure 1 is an elevation of my improved device partly in section; and Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a modified form of the discharge end thereof.

My invention may be used for many varied purposes, but is particularly adapted for use-in kindergartens for drawing designs and figures with sand of various colors, and may also be conveniently used by sign painters for distributing sand over signs.

The device is constructed with a reservoir 1 to hold the sand, that is closed at one end by a cap 2, and. from which extends the handle 3, having a contracted outer end, through which is a discharge opening 4. This particular form of reservoir and handle may be variously modified and altered with in my invent-ion. Fixed'to one side of the handle at 5, is a closure member 6, preferably of flexible material, which is bowed betweenjits ends at 7, and having a finger 8 at its free end. v

In operation, the reservoir is filled with sand and the cap 2 placed in position, after which the device is held in the hand by grasping the handle between the fingers with the thumb resting upon the bow 7, in exactly the same manner as one would hold a pencil. A very slight pressure applied to the bow 7 by the thumb flat-tens the same, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. l, at which time the finger 8 is moved to the position shown by broken lines in said figure, un-.

covering the discharge opening' i and permitting the sand to pass therethrough to be deposited in a uniform, continuous stream, which is shut off again by releasing the pressure. upon the how 7, at which time the finger 8 will return to its closure position and seal the discharge opening.

In Fig. 2 I have illustrated a modified formof the lower end of a handle 3 that is flat instead of pointed,; being only one of the many shapes into which the end of the handle may be formed.

Some sands flow freer than others, which latter are liable to clog and pack in the pencil, this being especially true if the sand is damp. To remedy this difficulty and insure a continuous flow, I have provided an agitator 9 formed from a piece of wire having lateral corrugations and lying within the reservoir and handle, with a sweep 10 at its lower end and a finger arm 11 at its upper end. If the sand becomes clogged the agitator is rotated through the finger arm, which loosens it so that it will again fiow freely. Neither the number, size or location of the corrugations in the agitator are material to my invention, as they are susceptible of indefinite variation.

There are minor changes and alterations that may be made within my invention, aside from those herein suggested, and I would therefore have it understood that I do not limit myself to the exact construction herein shown and described, but claim all that falls fairly within the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: r 4 v In a sand pencil, the combination with a reservoir; of a hollow handle connected therewith and leading therefrom, with a discharge opening in its outer end of less area than the interior of said handle; and an exterior flexible closure member, secured at one end to said handle, having a closure In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature finger at the other end, and bowed between in presence of two witnesses. its ends, so that pressure upon said bowed portion will flatten said flexible member JOHN PETRIE' 5 against said handle and move said closure Witnesses: v

finger in a substantially circular path away GEORGE E. HALL,

from the end of said handle. FLORENCE H. MONK.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

